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Put other anti-asteroid options to the test

From
Adrian Bowyer, Foxham, Wiltshire, UK

In your story on using predictive models to guide how to combat an incoming asteroid, we are told that if one “was set to hit Earth, humanity would have to scramble to conduct the world's riskiest experiment” (17 February, p 6).

That is why it is important to carry out low-risk trials soon, even if it probably isn't possible with nukes. Conducting NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test sooner, rather than later, makes sense. The results may mean we don't have to scramble when nature compels us to act for real.